Stamping or printing machine



Dec. 3l, 1935. 5 ANTHQNY 2,026,115

STAMPING 0R PRINTING MACHINE Filed NOV. 18, 1931 2 SheetS-Shqet l l5 H\GH ST BOSTON MASS Ilyll l ffii/fa:

47@ ATToR EY Dec. 31, 1935. s. ANTHONY STAMPING OR PRINTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 18, -19314 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,J Y mm E la N M Mw/W wf MA QB Patented Dec. 3l, 1935 STAMPING 0R PRINTING MACHINE Stanley Anthony, Boston, Mass., assignor to Farrington Manufacturing Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts4 Application November 18, 1931, Serial No. 575,775

- 5 Claims.

This invention relates to stamping or printing machines for applying sales data to salesmens manifold books. Heretofore the use of similar machines of the impact type resulted in too much noise by reason of the heavy blow required in order to print through the interposed several thicknesses of paper and carbon, and where a number of such stamping machines are installed in comparatively close proximity, the noise becomes a nerve-disturbing element. Another undesirable feature of the impact machine is that the force of the impact depends on the operators variable delivery of the same causing, oftentimes, a faint imprint, whereas in the roller type of a machine the pressure of the roller is controlled by a spring of a predetermined and constant tension.

In all types of machines of this general class, diiilculty has been experienced in the reversal of the carbon ribbon, the ribbon spools and the feeding mechanism therefor having been enclosed within the housing of the machine, and such arrangement, in addition to requiring the services of a skilled attendant, resulted also in the impossibility of keeping the feeding mechanism free from accumulated dust, and the ribbon itself protected from oil used to lubricate moving parts. The object of the present invention is to provide a device of this character in which the ribbon spool casings are located on the outsidepf the pressure head and therefore fully protected from oil that may accumulate inside said head, and in which such spools may be readily removed from their casings tok renew the ribbon without the use of tools, and without dissassembling the machine.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a device in which the ribbon-feeding mechanism is located outside the housing and in full view so that the operator may readily observe and remedy any operating diiliculty. A further objectis to provide a novel means for operating the pressure roller longitudinally of the pressure head and transversely of: the ink ribbon, such mode of operation completely eliminating the diiliculty heretofore experienced of distorting and bunching the ribbon when the pressure roller operated longitudinally thereof.

A further object of my invention consists in a novel reverse ribbon-feed actuated by means outside the pressure head, a novel means of securing the ribbon to the spool barrel, and a novel indicator to show when the end of the ribbon has been rolled off one of the spools.

A further object of my invention is to provide a multi-part pressure roller made up of units having yielding pressure to compensate for irregularities in the several lines of type on the printing plate.

tion comprises in general a base member prol0 vided with a stamping-plate-supporting anvil, a pressure head pivotally connected thereto, and a pressure roller pivoted within said head and arranged for movement longitudinally thereof, to-

gether with ribbon spools Varranged on either 15 side of the printing head and in parallel relation to each other so that the ribbon feed is transverse of said head, and the movement of the pressure roller is transverse of said ribbon.

My invention comprises also an intermittent pawl-and-ratchet ribbon feed arranged to be actuated every time the pressure head is closed on the base member, and a cam arrangement whereby one of the pawls is placed in operative position with respect to its ratchet and the other simultaneously put into neutral position for reversing the direction of the ribbon feed'.

My invention contemplates also the use of open-ended forwardly-projecting ribbon-spool casings permitting the instant removal of the spools and completely enclosing and protecting the ribbon, and also means for mounting the spools in said casing in such manner that the tension of the ribbon will exert a frictional drag on the same and keep the section 'of ribbon with which the roller co-operates always taut.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stamping or printing machine;V

Fig. 1a is a perspective view of a printing plate, herein shown as a customers token;

Fig. 1b is a perspective view of salesmens manifold sheets@ Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the anvil, with a printing plate mounted thereon;

Fig. 3 isan end view of the anvil showing the printing plate mounted thereon, and the saleman's manifold sheets placed in printing position thereon;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing the position of the parts when the pressure roller is at the end of its travel across the printing plate;

-5ofFig.4; e

Fig. 6 is'a rearelevation, certain parts being broken away to show the interior mechanism; e Fig. 7 is a front view of the presser headwhen turned about its pivot to upright position with respect tothe base member;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 isl a longitudinal section of one of the ribbon-spool casings; e

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a'form of ribl bon spool that may advantageously beused with the stamping machine;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of one of the units of the multi-part pressure roller after the springs have been placed in position;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of one of the flat springs used in each unit of the pressure roller.

In the particular drawings selected for more fully disclosing the principle underlying my invention, 20 is a base member comprising a base 2| and ahorizontal platform 22 supporting the anvil 23 on which the printing plate 24, which lmay be a customers token, is placed. The said anvilfis` provided with grooves arranged to receive the said flanges 25 of the printing plate, andwithapinsodisposedas totakeinto an identification notch 21. 'I'he anvil also has lateral notches 28 for receiving the tongues 29 of the printing plate, preferably formed of ductile metal, which tongues are bent under the supporting channelled backing plate of light gauge metal which has suillcient stiffness for the purpose, all

as set forth in my co-pending application, Serial No. 553,995, iled July 30, 1931.

Pivotally connected to the base member by the stud 39 is the pressure head 3|, said head consisting, in the present instance, of an elongated, hollow box-like member having parallel walls 32 connected at their upper extremities by an inclined front plate 33, and a curvilinear top and rear plate 34. Arranged on either side of the pressure head are two ribbonspool casings 35, 35,

said casings being shown in the present instance as extending longitudinally of the head, and consisting of a cylindrical portion slightly larger in diameter than the ribbon spool to be received therein, and a flat portion 35 formed integral with said cylindrical portion, each casing being secured to the pressure head in any suitable manner, asby screws 31, 31' passing through said flat portion and threaded to the side walls of the pressure head. The forward end 38 of each spool housing is open, and attached to the closed rearward end 39 is a centrally-disposed, longitudinally-xtending pin 49, said pin being slightly longer than the ribbon spool 4I which is mounted thereon, and having an end button 42 on its` projecting end, said button overlapping the end flange 43 of said spool when, during the operation of the machine, the ribbon exerts tension on the two spools which carry the same. In the present instance'the means employed to secure the pin to the base of the spool .casing is a` screw 44 passing through the ratchet 45 and threaded into the reduced end shank of the pin. Various modes of attaching the pin to the rear end of the casing to permit of slight movement of said pin with respect to the axis of said casing will readily occur to those skilled `in the art. In the present illustrative form of my invention, the means shown consists in the cupped steel washer .45 whereby a certain amount of resiliency is imparted to the e e 53,036,111; Fianii is a transverse section 'taken on'the line connection of the pin to the base 33, thereby eil'ecting a frictional control of said pin and the spool when the ratchet pawl is operative,

Itnwill be noted that the greater portion of the pin`is'of smaller diameter than the bore 41 5 of the spool so that by virtue of the tension of f the ribbon, the spools willtip slightly toward each other and their ilanges will be in frictional engagement with the plate 45, hereinafter more fully described, which plate forms part of the channel for the roher axle and may be considered as forming a portion of the casing'. By means of such frictional engagement of the spool flange with the plate 45 the requisite drag is exerted on the spools and the ribbon is always kept taut. 15

To ensure the intermittent rotational movement ofthe spools with the ratchets 45,A 45', a A pin-and-slot connectionv 49, 59 between'the pin and the barrel yof the spool is provided in the present instance, although it is to be understood 20 that various other modes of'connection may be employed. y

In order to ensure the intermittent feeding of the ribbon, I provide pawls 5i, '5i' arranged to' engage the ratchets 45, 45', respectively. E ach .25

pawl is mounted, as shown at 52, 52', on one of the cam levers 53, 53' each pivotally connected to the sidewalls of the pressure head'.

Each cam lever 53, 53 is so positioned that when the pressure head-is closed on the base 3o member, the end of one of them only will project beyond the lower edge 54` of the side walls of the pressure head so that when the said-head is closed, the cam lever will be raised sufficiently to cause the pawl carried thereby to rotate the 36 ratchet one notch ahead.

As will be apparent from Fig. 5, the ratchet 45 is rotated intermittently 4in a counterclockwise direction, thereby drawing the ribbon olf the spool mounted on the pin to which the ratchet 4o 45' is connected; and the ratchet 45' is rotated in a clockwise direction, thereby drawing the ribbon oir the spool mounted on the pin to which the ratchet 45 is attached. Retrograde move. ment of the ratchets is prevented by the re- 45 siliency of the cupped washer 46.

'Ihe means for placing one pawl in operative, and the other in neutral, position consists in the present instance of the cams 55, 55' mounted on the cross-shaft 56 and disposed 90 apart. By 50 means of the lever 51 rigidly connected to said cross-shaft, the latter may be given a partial rotation, with the result that when 4said lever is in the position shown in` Fig. 4, the cam 55, is in an inactive position within its follower slot 53, 55 permitting the cam lever 53 to descend to its lowermost or operative position, whereby the closing of the head on the base member will cause the lower end of said cam lever to strike the platform 22, thereby oscillating said cam le- 60 ver about its pivot and effecting the engagement of the pawl 5| withits ratchet. When, however, said lever is raised, the cam 55 cofacts with its follower slot and elevates the cam lever 53 to an inoperative position above the casing edge 54, and the cam lever'53' s'imultaneouslydescends to its operative position as the cam 55' turns to an inactive position within its 4follower slot, in which position the closure of the head on the base member-will eiect the step-by-step clockwise rotation of the ratchet 45. Each cam lever 53, 53', raised as aforesaid when the pressure head is closed, is vbrought back to its` original position with its free end projecting beyondthe lower edge of the pressure head walls by means of a 75 a,oss,`us 3 4 spring'll, Il', each spring being coiled about the stud Il and vterminating in two straight portions Ii, l2, resting respectively Vbeneath the cross-shaft Il and above laterallyypmlecting pins s riveted to the respective cam plates and passing inward through slots cut in the pressure head walls. While the ends of the ribbon may be secured in a variety of ways to the spools 4i, I prefer, as shown in Fig. 10, to provide the barrel 1o of each spool with a pair of oppositely-disposed tongues il, each of which may preferably be cut out of the barrel itself.'and the inner ends of which are slightly spaced apart from each other.

I 'the end of the ribbon having several holes Il l5 punched therein so that, as shown in said figure,

the end of the ribbon may be threaded over the tongues. Each e'nd of the ribbon I1 preferably is provided with a short length ll which is coiored distinctively from the ink-carrying portion thereof, so that the operator can conveniently fncartain when the ribbon has been almost comple ly unwound from one of the spools: In the absence of an automatic reversal of the feed, this feature has been found to be desirable. Rollers tl' may be provided for guiding the ribbon across the pressure head. l

It frequently happens that type on the printing plate differs slightly in height, producing thereby incomplete imprint, and for that reason it is desirable to so construct the pressure roller as to compensate for such height variations.

In the present instance the pressure roller is made up of a number of independent co-axial discs I9, herein shown as four in number, and

said discs are mounted on the roller shaft 10 in such manner that each may assume a position eccentric with said shaft by virtue of resilient means interposed between each disc and shaft. One way in which this result may con- '40 vemenuy be accomplished is shown in rig. s and on a larger scale in Fig. 1l. Each disc is provided with a central bore 1i, receiving, in the present instance, a ring 12, the outside diameter of which is slightly smaller than the diameter of said bore, although itwill readily be understood that said ring may be omitted. and that the diameter of the axle 1I may be made but slightly smaller than the diameter of said bore. A plurality of holes 13, herein shown as six in number, and equi-distantly positioned, are drilled longitudinally through the disc intermediate the circumference and the center thereof, and each of said holes is so positioned as to intersect the bore 1i. Disposed in eachof said holes is a cylindrical spring 14, the circular length of which is slightly less than the circumference of the hole in which it is placed, so that the ends thereof do not quite meet, as shown at 15. A portion of each spring, in the present instance about onei0 sixth of the circumference thereof, projects into the central bore 1I, and each is tangent to the ring 12, if the same be employed, or to the axle 10, if said ring be not used, and a larger axle having a diameter equal to that of said ring is substituted for the smaller axle and ring.

vAs above set forth, the pressure roller, preferably constructed as shown in Fig. ll, is arranged for movement longitudinal of the head and transverse of the ink ribbon. In the prent instance two runways are formed on the vertical sides of the pressure head for receiving the ends of the axle 10, and while said runways or guiding grooves may be cut into said sides themselves, or be built thereon in a variety of ways, I prefer for economy of construction and inorder further to protect thbribbonspoolaioformsaidgroovesbythe inturned laterally-extending ends It of the plates above-mentlmsaidpiaies preferably beingattachedtotherespectivesidesofthepressurehead'bythesamelcrewsllwhichareem- 5 ployedtosecimetheribboncasings Iltheretmas shown moet clearly in I'ig. 8. Themeans employed in the present instance for imparting a right-line motion to the roller, consists of a pair ofarms11 arrangedinparslielrelationandpivm otedtotheheadbythestudNJaidstudbeing held in position by the end screws 1|. The free endsofsaidarmsareconnectedbyatransverse stud 8l arranged to receive the bifurcated lower end of the lever 8i which, in the present form, 1s consists also of two parallel arms pivoted `about thestud1l,andintegralwiththeleverl2. The bifurcated lower ends of the arms 11 take over theendsoftherolleraxlell,asshowninlllg.4 so thatwhen the lever l2 is rotated about itszo pivot from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the substantially horizontal position shown in Fig. 4, therollerwillbemovedfromitsnormsl forward position indicated at (Fig. 4) to its extreme rearward position indicated at I3', thereby press- 26 lng the ink ribbon against the manifold sheets u, which sheets usually consist of a customers record sheet Il and two salesmens record sheets which are, respectively, a tissue sheet Il and a sheet l1 having adouble-faced sheet ofcarbonso It interposed therebetween. 'Ihe pressure ex- 'ertedbytherolierontheinkribbonandonthe manifoldsheetsarrangedbetweentheinkribbon andtheprintingplatewill,inthepresentin stance, resultinmaking animpressionoftheso printing plate inscription on all three sheets. For maintaining the lever 82 in its normal position (Fig. 6); a spring Il may be employed. said spring having its central portion coiled around the stud ",snditsendportionsengagingthego studwhich connects the propelling arms 11, andthestud'securedtothetwosideplaies ofthepressureheadbythescrewsilusedfor attaohingthespoolcasingstosaidhead. The movement of the pressure roller longitudinally of 'theheadislimitedby saidstudll' andthetransverse stud 9|, which is secured to the walls of the pressure head by the screws $1', or by the length of the roller channels.

The rigidity of the machine is greatly increased 60 by arranging the pair of oppositeiy-disposed bearings Si, extending upwardly from the base member, to clasp the lower edges of the side walls I! therebetween when .the pressure head is closed and thus lock the saine against side movement, 56 thereby producing a clearer print.

Having thus described an illustrative embodiment of my invention without, however, limiting thesamethereto,whatIclaimanddesireto secure by Letters Patent iszoo 1. A stamping machine comprising in combination, a pressure head, ribbon spools mounted on either side of said pressure head, the axes of said spools being parallel with each other and longitudinal of said head, a pressure roller disposed within and pivotally connected to said head, and means for moving said roller longitudinally of said pressure head and transversely of the section of ribbon passing across said pressure head from one of said spools to the other. 10

2. A stamping machine comprising in combination, a pressure head, a pressure roller disposed within said head, an axle for said pressure roller,

a plate secured to said head von either side thereof and extending beyond the lower edges thereof, 1I

4 a,oas,us a

each said plate terminating in a laterally-extending end portion projecting at right angles from the plane o! said plate. the lower edges o! said pressure head and said laterally-extending portions forming slots disposed longitudinally oi said head ior receiving the respective ends ot said axle. y

3. In a stamping machine, a pressure roller comprising a plurality of co-axial discs. each having a central bore, an axle tor said discs. said axle having a diameter slightly smaller than that of said central bore and each said disc being provided with a plurality of holes intersecting said central bore, and a cylindrical spring disposed in each oi said holes. each said spring being tangent to said axle and the circular length thereof being less than the circumference of the hole in which it is placed.

4. A printing machine having, in combination.

a bed and a pressure head hinged together for closing and opening movements. means exteriorly o! said head for supporting an ink ribbon between said bed and head and transversely thereof, and 5 means for traversing a roller longitudinally oi said bed and head when they are closed andin printing relation.

5. A stamping machine having, in combination, a pressure head, two ribbon spools mounted 10 at opposite sides of said head respectively with their axes parallel and longitudinal of the head.

a pressure member disposed within said head.

and means for moving said member longitudinally oi' said pressure head and transversely of the 15 section oi' ribbon passing across said pressure head from one of said spools to the other.

STANLEY ANTHONY. 

